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Recently released body camera footage shows Los Angeles Police Department officers playing Pokemon Go instead of chasing robbery suspects at a mall just 200 yards away.
“Dude, I got you a new Pokemon today,” one officer can be heard telling another in the video.
Officers Luis Lozano and Eric Mitchell also appeared They ignore the radio that tells them to do so Located in Crenshaw Mall near Macy’s.
Lozano can be heard saying in response to a radio call before driving another 20 minutes to various locations to collect Pokemon in the augmented reality game.
In fact, in response to an LAPD captain’s request for a replacement, he said, “I don’t want to be his assistant.”
The harrowing footage shows officers running stop signs, making illegal turns and speeding down a residential street in relentless pursuit of the mythical creatures. The pair laugh as they contemplate in-game items like Poké Balls and potions. .
When Lozano and Mitchell were later asked why the robbery call went unanswered, they claimed they couldn’t hear the radio. But when their leader checks the car’s camera footage, he discovers that they’ve deliberately ignored it so they can continue playing.
According to court documents, the couple then lied to investigators about playing the game during the April 2017 incident.
The former officials were fired in 2018 after a unanimous decision by a disciplinary committee.
The former officers appealed their firings, which ultimately ended up in a California appeals court, where their lawyers argued that their conversation, accidentally recorded on their patrol car’s dashboard camera, was private.
But the court did not accept the apology and the judge described his argument as “flawed”.
Lozano was a 17-year veteran of the LAPD, while Mitchell held the position for seven years.
